Jump to content

Religion


Xezlec

What's your religion?  

1 member has voted

  1. 1.

    • Christian (any flavor)
      150
    • Atheist/Agnostic/Nontheist
      283
    • I dunno, I'm just me, dude!
      51
    • Jew
      17
    • Muslim
      9
    • Buddhist
      20
    • Hindu
      1
    • New-ager
      16
    • Cthuluite
      8
    • Wiccan
      17
    • Republican
      0
    • SubGenius
      4
    • Don't try to shove me in your categories
      43
    • Other/Unlisted
      80
    • Nihilist
      13

This poll is closed to new votes


Recommended Posts

Atheist-leaning agnostic.

Nihilism is really more of a philosophy than a religion. And, um. I don't think "Republican" counts as a religion...

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm somewhere around the agnostic end... somehow I have trouble seeing something as truth if there's no real evidence. Faith isn't something that comes easily to me - I need too many explanations. On the other hand, I'm not completely dismissing the probability of a god or some other force, it's just that with what info I have, I can't bring myself to believe. I tend not to care what other people are so long as they don't shove it in my face, though.

No offense meant anywhere, that's just what I am, I guess.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I put "Other." I avoid organized religion like the plague, although I love studying them in classes - I'm much more interested in the philosophical aspects. I guess basically I feel certain that there is a higher power than the laws of nature, but beyond that I haven't decided yet. There are so many explanations for the existence of the universe and they all have their problems. Most recently I've read Vivekananda and like a lot of what he has to say about it, though.

On second thought maybe I should have put Agnostic. I don't think it's possible to know about all this stuff but that doesn't mean I don't want to try! :)

Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm New Age.

Could you explain that to me? Or could you give a short synopsis of what that is? I've never heard of it before.

Oh yeah, I'm agnostic.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I voted "Don't try to shove me...".

I was brought up Christian (Church of England) and to some extent still associate with that.

But I no longer tell people I am Christian, mainly because my understanding of Christianity no longer seems to match the predominant one.

Particularly here in Europe, where church-going has plunged to very low levels, I find it's no longer comfortable to be openly Christian, especially among younger people.

Particularly difficult are the many problems the CofE faces today over women bishops, homosexuality and other ethical issues.

Worse, here in Belgium it's assumed that being Christian means being Catholic... and I have even more fundamental disagreements with the version of Christianity represented by the Vatican.

I've found myself being influenced by other belief systems, particularly Wiccan and Unitarian Universalism as well as Atheistic and Humanistic approaches.

But my scientific and logical background and education has also influenced me greatly.

People often complain about the fact that many people nowadays take a 'pick and mix' approach to religion... in fact, I think doing this is a very positive thing, and am glad I am able to draw my understanding of the world from a variety of religions (as well as science, art, literature, philosophy etc.)

I really don't see why I should have to follow one (sometimes arbitrary) set of instructions rather than another. I see individual religions more as a source for gaining values and directions for life, not an absolute method for living in themselves.

I guess this is where my logical mind comes in - looking at the bible, for instance, I see there are many conflicts throughout it, and I therefore have many problems accepting it at face value. So instead I think of it to some extent in a similar way to Aesop's Fables - it's a source of ideas, allowing me to conceptualise my knowledge of right and wrong... If a particular section doesn't fit with my understanding of the world, I have no problem rejecting it and looking for something more coherent and logical.

So I don't like to categorise myself as any one religion.

Link to post
Share on other sites
People often complain about the fact that many people nowadays take a 'pick and mix' approach to religion... in fact, I think doing this is a very positive thing, and am glad I am able to draw my understanding of the world from a variety of religions (as well as science, art, literature, philosophy etc.)

I agree totally. I'm spiritual, not religious. I follow many different paths and use my faith as an aid to me. Not to beat anybody up with, throw at someone or cause trouble. I believe one's relationship with God (if s/he has one) is a one on one thing and means nothing to anyone else. That's why I don't like some mortal at the front of a church praying for me. Got my own things to say to Him, thank you. People think it's religion/faiths that cause fights and wars but it's not, it's the way people USE them as an excuse. I like to learn from others. Doesn't mean I have to accept it as my own belief but it's interesting and good to just give others the consideration that they are just as fast to their faith as I am to mine.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm, some interesting points there.

I wouldn't say religion is only an excuse for fights and not ever the real cause. A lot of people get really angry that someone believes something different from them, even if they have no other reason to dislike that person. I have had fights/arguments that were just about religion, with no other "between the lines" issues at all. But I suppose sometimes it can be just an excuse too, especially when governments are involved.

However, I also find it hard to believe that people get their moral values from religion. Seems to be the other way around! In every case I have ever seen, people seem to get their moral values from other sources (parents, culture, life experiences, personal urges) and either force those values into their preferred religion ("interpretation") or try to "mix and match" religions to find something that fits their own feelings. In this respect it has always kinda seemed to me like organized religions are just "clubs" for people who already feel the same way about things.

Of course, if I'm right, then religion isn't really the source of morality, it's just a way people justify or rationalize the way they already feel about things. I don't think that makes it worthless of course! If I am right about that then perhaps the true purpose of religion is to give your feelings some sense of sanity, to fit things into a kind of emotion structure that gives you meaning and purpose. And besides that, organized religions might also act as a place where people can (sort of) share their own personal views and influence one another to come up with a more coherent set of beliefs and feelings for the whole group.

Of course, those are just thoughts, and I'm speaking from an atheist's perspective. I don't claim to have absolute knowledge about the nature of the universe and I certainly don't mean to sound insulting or condescending to those who have chosen a religious path. If I do sound that way, I apologize!

But do you get what I mean?

Link to post
Share on other sites
However, I also find it hard to believe that people get their moral values from religion. Seems to be the other way around! In every case I have ever seen, people seem to get their moral values from other sources (parents, culture, life experiences, personal urges)...

I think moral values have so much more...well, value...when you've learned them on your own. I mean, it's fine if your church or whatever teaches those values, but I think for them to really be meaningful you at some point have to go through a process of realizing what they actually mean in practice. I don't find it personally constructive to act according to a cost-benefit analysis of "I do this because I'll be rewarded in heaven."

...it's just a way people justify or rationalize the way they already feel about things.

Then you have the people who flat-out misunderstand the values that their religion teaches. (More of a case of misunderstanding the founding principles, I think.) But then I guess you could argue that they're just misconstruing them to fit their own preconceptions, which is what I think your point is.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Committed agnostic.

Sometimes I believe, sometimes I don't.

The most consistent thing I can say about my religion is that I'm inconsistent.

Shall the spirit be flour one day and not cornmeal the next?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm kinda following my own path.

I basically believe there is a God, and it doesn't go much further than that.

I've been brought up as a Lutheran, but in the last few months or maybe even year I've come to realise that almost all religions are too specific and complicated. I'm not saying that they're all wrong, I'm just saying there's no way you con prove a lot of the more specific aspects of a religion.

Basically I don't see much point in believing that "This is the bread and Body of Christ" or that "On the thirty second day Froiodad ascended mount Dume and cast the wristlet into the lukewarm steam thereby destroying the not-so-well-lit lord". It's all assumptions based on assumptions in my eyes, with very little evidence to support it.

I feel that just believing that there is an all-powerful being is enough. It fills in a lot of holes like who wrote the laws of nature, who put the gasses that made the big bang there (if indeed thats what happened) and so forth.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I feel that just believing that there is an all-powerful being is enough. It fills in a lot of holes like who wrote the laws of nature, who put the gasses that made the big bang there (if indeed thats what happened) and so forth.

Well I'm not sure whether I want to start a religious argument, but, in defense of atheism, I think your questions already presuppose a creator entity. To me, it is much more natural to ask "what did x" rather than "who did x", since in my experience most stuff happens because of impartial, ordinary physical processes, not hidden entities. So I would say that by asking "who put...." and so forth, you have already decided (by some other line of though) that god(s) exist and you are now just trying to justify it. To me, the idea that there is a god raises a lot more questions than it answers.

Now let's see if I started a religious argument... :wink:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...